Prime Minister Boris Johnson's ratings have plunged to a new low after he U-turned on plans to overhaul Westminster's standards system to save a Tory MP from suspension.
The Tory leader's personal rating score has dropped to -20, a further fall on the -16 recorded last week, an Opinium survey commissioned by the Observer has found.
His rating had slashed to -18 last month, suggesting the Tory leader has been viewed as unpopular for quite some time now.
Mr Johnson's lead has also fallen from 11 points to just 2, with now only 28 per cent of people saying he'd be the best fit for N.10 - a drop of five points.
The percentage of those who would want Labour leader Keir Starmer to be the next prime minister, on the other hand, is up four points to 26 per cent.
It comes as Mr Johnson faces massive backlash over his handling of the Tory MP Owen Paterson's scandal this past week, which former Conservative leader John Major branded "politically corrupt".
The Prime Minister was forced to U-turn over a plan to prevent Mr Paterson facing a 30-day Commons suspension for a serious breach of lobbying rules.
Mr Paterson subsequently quit as an MP after the Government abandoned an attempt to set up a Tory-dominated committee to re-examine his case and the wider Commons standards regime.
In scathing criticism of Mr Johnson's behaviour, Sir John told the BBC's Radio 4 Today programme the PM's handling of the row had been "shameful", and had trashed Parliament's reputation.
Sir John said: "I think the way the Government handled that was shameful, wrong and unworthy of this or indeed any government. It also had the effect of trashing the reputation of Parliament."
It comes amid reports of a second sleaze scandal set to rock the government in just a week, as a joint investigation by the Sunday Times and OpenDemocracy uncovered how millionaires who donate at least £3m to the Conservative Party are "guaranteed" a seat in the House of Lords.
The Tories have been accused of a "scandal in plain sight" over what is reported to be a well-known and long-established practice within the party.
The probe found 16 of the party's main treasurers have reportedly been offered a seat in the Lords over the past 20 years.
The only exception is the most recent one, who stood down two months ago.
